HyFlex Course Delivery: A Practical Guide
What is the HyFlex Model?
“A Hybrid-Flexible (HyFlex) course design enables a flexible participation policy for students, whereby students may
choose to attend face-to-face synchronous class sessions in-person (typically in a traditional classroom) or complete
course learning activities online without physically attending class. Some HyFlex courses allow for further choice in the
online delivery mode, allowing both synchronous and asynchronous participation.” (Beatty, 2019, n. p.)
Know Your 3 Delivery Modalities & Student Groups
Face-to-Face (F2F) Live
Online Livestream (OL)
Online Asynchonous (OA)
Students will attend class F2F in your
Students will be watching your class
Students will be watching the posted
classroom. Class sessions will be
livestreamed online while you’re
recording of the class session online
livestreamed and recorded.
teaching.
at their convenience.
In a HyFlex Model, students have the flexibility of moving across all three modalities as needed or desired.
Please note that under COVID19 conditions, movement may be restricted. At UofSC, students must attend class
according to how they registered, and should not be allowed to move from section to section during the term.
Plan Course Organization & Activities
Learning Outcomes: Students across all delivery modalities should achieve the same learning outcomes. Student
engagement through active learning increases student learning outcomes in different instructional settings (Khan, et al,
2017). Students in all groups will engage in the same instructional activities and complete the same assessments.
Live Class Sessions: One way to effectively engage students in multiple modalities is to organize your class sessions into
segments that allow you, the instructor, to share knowledge and then provide students with skills practice. An example
of this organization in a 50-minute class: Lecture Part 1 (15 minutes) > Activity 1 (10 minutes) > Lecture Part 2 or Debrief
(10-15 minutes) > Activity 2 (5 minutes) > Lecture Part 3 & Wrap-up (5 minutes).
Blackboard Course Organization: A well designed course will help students navigate easily throughout the term and
reduce confusion. Organize your class into modules and include a list of all module assignments (the instructional
activities) to be completed by students in all three groups. Each module should include the following: Module
Overview, Module Objectives, Modules Assignments list, and all instructional content. Provide step-by-step instructions
for each assignment, including Online Follow-up Assessments. Specify Due Dates and what is required or optional.
Plan Lectures (10-20 minutes per segment)
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Break a class lecture into “chunks” of about 10-20 minutes; each lecture chunk will be followed by a “Thinking
Moment Activity” (see below).
Number of lecture “chunks” and time per activity depends on class length (50, 75, 250, etc.).
Plan Thinking Moment Activities (5-10 minutes)
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These check for comprehension of the new material or provide skills practice for students in all 3 delivery
modalities.
Instructors model how to think or solve problems.
Students should have equal opportunity to complete assignments and earn credit. In-class activities should not
be graded; these can be thought of as practice and/or self-check opportunities. One group should not have a
perceived advantage over another.
HyFlex Course Delivery: A Practical Guide
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Write out instructions for each activity on a PowerPoint slide so they are in writing for OL and OA students.
Use Active Learning strategies. Activity examples: quiz questions, scenarios, reflection questions, group work,
problems, etc.
Provide a solution/correct answer after completion of each activity. This can be done by asking for volunteers
from both the F2F and OL groups.
Plan Online Follow-up Assessments
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After attending or viewing each F2F class session, all student groups are to complete follow-up online exercises:
content quizzes, application exercises (e.g. case studies), reflection questions (e.g. muddiest point), etc.
These can help ensure that all student groups are attending or viewing class sessions and receiving instruction.
These are graded low-stakes assessments contributing a small percentage to the course grade; they can be
viewed as a replacement for the attendance/participation grade.
These can provide on-going formative assessment to measure learning for all three student audiences.
Follow-up online activities should build on the “Thinking Moment Activity” to provide continuity but should be
more substantive and comprehensive.
Plan to debrief (or at least mention) the results of Online Follow-up Assessments during the next class session to
let students know that you value their completion of these exercises. This will help tie together online and faceto-face components.
Tips and Best Practices for F2F + OL Live HyFlex Facilitation
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Plan for Help: Have a GTA, volunteer, colleague or F2F student monitor the synchronous chat for you and alert
you if there are questions from the OL students. Consider giving points or other incentives to students who help.
Plan Assessments: Students in all three groups need access to the same course materials; assessments and
assignments need to be carefully designed to facilitate the same learning outcomes in all three groups.
Merge Bb Sections: Save yourself time developing content and managing your course in Blackboard; request to
merge multiple sections of the same class in Bb through DoIT’s self-service portal.
Press Record: Remember to open the Web conferencing tool and press Record.
Build Community: Acknowledge all groups during lectures and activities. This will help build community and
establish equity between groups.
Dialogue: Talk in a dialogic manner to keep students engaged (ask questions, pause, then answer).
Activity Prompts: Build in questions and interactive moments. You can have a slide that simply says “Activity” as
a placeholder for both you and the OL students.
“Thinking Moment Activity”: Introduce it, pause to give students time to complete it, then debrief.
Calling on Students: Swap who you call on first (OL or F2F student) to provide answers:
o “Let’s see what we have on chat. OK, Let’s have an answer from those who are in-person.”
o “Let’s have one or two from each group to provide responses to the problem.”
Homework: At the end of the class, introduce the Online Follow-up Activity to be completed prior to the next
class session.
Facilitating Asynchronous Online Students
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Make sure that F2F sessions are recorded and posted for viewing within a few hours after the class meeting.
Include instructions for F2F activities in the presentation materials (PowerPoint slides) or post them separately
to the course site before each class.
Make sure correct answers/solutions are given after each activity. This is important for the OA students.
Provide all graded assessments online for all groups to ensure equal opportunity for all students to complete
and earn credit.
In the F2F class, refer to work/contributions submitted by OL and OA students to show that you value all
students in the class.
HyFlex Course Delivery: A Practical Guide
Student Learning Activities Planning Guide Worksheet
Class Date
Learning Outcome(s)
Instructional Activities
Lecture Part 1
“Thinking Moment Activity” 1
Lecture Part 2
“Thinking Moment Activity” 2
Lecture & Wrap-up Part 3
Descriptions
Topic(s):
Activity:
Purpose (Objective):
Instructions:
Topic(s):
Activity:
Purpose (Objective):
Instructions:
Topic(s):
Time (m)
15-20
10
15-20
10
15-20
Asynchronous Viewers
Students watch recorded lectures.
Instruct online students to think through all questions and complete
activities done in class as a self-check.
Classtime
Online Follow-up Assessment
(Homework for All Groups)
Assessment Type:
Purpose (Objective(s)):
Description:
Instructions:
Points:
Due Date:
30-45
Debrief Online Activity
Provide feedback (grades, comments) to students individually.
Summarize overall feedback and post as an Announcement in Blackboard.
Briefly comment on the results during the next F2F class session.
2-5
Need individualized help?
Consult with a Center for Teaching Excellence instructional designer. Email cte@sc.edu or complete the online
consultation form.
References
Beatty, B. J. (2019). Hybrid-Flexible Course Design: Implementing student-directed hybrid classes (1st ed.). EdTech Books. Retrieved from
https://edtechbooks.org/hyflex
Khan, A., Egbue, O., Palkie, B., & Madden, J. (2017). Active learning: Engaging students to maximize learning in an online course. The Electronic Journal of e-Learning
Volume 15 Issue 2 2017, (pp107-115) available online at www.ejel.org. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1141876.pdf
Created in Collaboration:
Vera Polyakova-Norwood, College of Nursing, & Lydia Frass, Center for Teaching Excellence